Unified Communications Industry News

Plantronics Reports 3rd Quarter Fiscal Year 2013 Results

In a release on January 29, the Company noted that highlights of the quarter include the following (comparisons are against the third quarter of fiscal year 2012):
-Net revenues were $197.4 million, an increase of 8 percent compared with $183.2 million.

-GAAP operating income was $34.6 million; non-GAAP operating income was $41.7 million as compared to $37.4 million and $42.0 million, respectively.

-GAAP diluted earnings per share ("EPS") was $0.66, a decrease of $0.05, or 7 percent, and higher than our guidance of $0.54 to $0.61.

-Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.73, a decrease of $0.02, or 3 percent, and higher than our guidance of $0.63 to $0.70.

"We achieved robust growth in Unified Communications ("UC") net revenues as global adoption of the technology continues," said Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. "Solid revenue in Office and Contact Center ("OCC") combined with market share gains in mono Bluetooth in the U.S. furthered our revenue growth in the quarter."
"We continued to strategically invest in our UC product portfolio to strengthen our position as a leader in UC, while maintaining profitability within our long-term target range," said Pam Strayer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We are focused on driving efficiency throughout the company to maximize our long-term investment in UC."
OCC net revenues increased 5 percent to $139.4 million compared with $133.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 driven by the strength of our UC revenues. Net revenues from UC products, a subset of OCC, grew by 43 percent to $36.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $25.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Mobile net revenues were $44.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2013, an increase of $8.1 million, or 23 percent, from $36.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 primarily as a result of strong product launches and good product placement in our retail channels.

Dividend Announcement
We also announced that our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. The dividend will be payable on March 11, 2013 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 20, 2013.

Business Outlook
The following statements are based on our current expectations and many of these statements are forward-looking. Actual results are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from our expectations.

We have a "book and ship" business model whereby we ship most orders to customers within 48 hours of receipt of those orders, and, therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues. In addition, our incoming orders have historically been low during the last two weeks of December and the first half of January, and have then increased significantly into February and March.

Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, particularly with continuing uncertainty in global economic conditions, and there can be no assurance that expectations of incoming orders over the balance of the current quarter will materialize.

Subject to the foregoing, we currently expect the following range of financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013:
-Net revenues of $190 million to $195 million;
-GAAP operating income of $33 million to $35 million;
-Non-GAAP operating income of $39 million to $41 million, excluding the impact of $6 million from stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation, and restructuring costs from GAAP operating income;
-Assuming approximately 42.7 million diluted average weighted shares outstanding:
-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.63 to $0.67;
-Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.68 to $0.72; and
-Cost of stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation and restructuring costs to be approximately $0.09 per diluted share, with an expected partial offset of approximately $0.04 related to the retroactive reinstatement of the research and development ("R&D") tax credit in the U.S.

Plantronics is a company focusing on audio communications for businesses and consumers.

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